Some Frigid Facts From FOX 17

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WEST MICHIGAN — With Arctic air locked in place across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, the nation’s icebox International Falls, Minn., dropped to a low temperature this morning of -42, or 42 degrees below zero. Compare that to the warmest overnight low in the lower 48 states, Key West, Fla. They had a low which was a balmy 77 degrees. That’s a difference of some 119 degrees between the north and south United States!

If that wasn’t enough, there were more record low temperatures recorded in the United States in 2013 than record high temperatures. It may not sound like a big deal, but this occurred as everyone debates global warming and how we need to change the way humans on the planet do things. Just some points to ponder.

As one article that I read described the situation, the last time this happened Bill Clinton was inaugurated and Miley Cyrus was just a baby, all back in 1993. So, it’s been 20 years since we’ve seen this topsy-turvy switch with high and low temperatures. The information was released by the National Climatic Data Center. Click here for their website.

NCDC blames the unusually cold spring for helping to turn things upside down and set new records. Keep in mind that since the United States only comprises about two percent of the Earth’s surface, it is not representative of the entire globe.

Also keep in mind 2013 was quite the turnaround from the amazingly warm year of 2012, when more than 34,000 record highs were measured across the country, as compared with only about 6,600 record lows.